Tag Archives: funnyman beards

If you have followed Beards of Denver for a bit, or if you are familiar with either beard or craft beer culture, you now know well that there is often a direct correlation between a bomb-ass beard and an excellent craft beer. Based on that cardinal knowledge, you won’t be surprised that we met Tony Drewry (left, pictured here with Will Golden, Head Brewer at Austin Beerworks in Austin, TX) at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in October. Tony, who is an independent craft beer consultant across the state of Texas, was visiting our fair city for GABF from his home in Fort Worth, Texas. His beard is just over three years old, but he’s had some iteration of facial hair for all his adult life, including goatees, mustaches, and mutton chops, but we must say, we favor his beard. Tony hails from a long line of Baptists and moonshiners, which we hear are both huge appreciators of the beard. Additionally, all of Tony’s sweethearts have appreciated his beard, and he assured us “Hell, even my mama digs it.”To care for those precious locks, Tony washes, conditions, brushes, and even applies a bit of Kiehl’s Superbly Restorative Argan Dry Oil for good measure. Even with all this primping, occasionally he does experience “bed beard” (think bed head, but on your face), but when his beard gets that wild he’s able to braid it to keep it in check. Regardless, Tony’s beard always smells fabulous (we have no doubt). When asked if strangers fondle his beard without his permission, Tony said he does occasionally get confused with other men who are part of the bearded brethren brotherhood, and he even has a name for these folks: “Beardists” (no comment as to whether the Beards of Denver ladies would qualify for this label, but we’ll take it as a compliment if so). Tony stressed that Beardism is “not a laughing matter” and has noticed over the years that a big, beautiful beard does seem to fascinate a huge spectrum of the populace and garners loads of, mostly humorous, comments. He did say if he ever hears another “Duck Dynasty” reference “It will be too soon.”Tony’s family, on the whole, loves his beard. His 10-year-old daughter dictates his facial hair growth and her most recent instruction was for him to grow his beard to his waist (we can’t wait for the progress report on that)! One of his nephews once wore a fake beard to Tony’s birthday party, and his very young nephews and nieces find solace and comfort in his beard. Tony’s favorite story about his beard is when his nephew Parker was three years old, he asked Tony how he grew his beard, and Tony told him, “Kid, I get up every morning, look at myself in the mirror and let out a seriously manly grunt.” About a week later, Tony received a text from his sister that read, “Well, I hope you’re happy. Parker was trying to grow his beard this morning and shit his pants,” Tony told us “I laugh every time I tell that story.” (That may be the best beard story we’ve heard thus far as well!)Besides growing an awesome beard and working in the craft beer world, Tony is also the Co-Founder/Art Director at lemonjuice.us. He works with the Texas Tavern League and is the co-pilot of The Beerliner (which we were lucky enough to experience in person). Tony also sings and plays banjo, guitar, jug, and kazoo in the band Shotgun Friday, which plays hill hop music and is the official unofficial band of Texas Craft Beer. We’ll be sure to try and catch them next time we’re in the Lone-Star state! Tony put it best when he told us that truly, “Beards make the world a better place.” We couldn’t agree more. You can follow Tony on Twitter at: @BeerPedaler

It’s no secret that a lot of our fantastic beard encounters here at Beards of Denver have occurred whilst sampling some of the many fine brews crafted in our wonderful city. It was on such an occasion on a recent chilly fall Saturday night that we found ourselves at Black Shirt Brewing, only to have our hearts warmed by meeting Ben and admiring his glorious beard. Ben even managed to surprise us (we’re normally so unflappable) by admitting to being a Beards of Denver fan! You’re earning mega points there, Ben. The incarnation of Ben’s beard was about a year ago when he started a new gig and proclaimed he was no longer going to shave, which obviously has been a huge gain for the entire universe. Ben, who’s lived in Denver about a year, is a true-bearded Coloradan, hailing from one of our favorite cities and northern neighbor, Fort Collins. Ben shared that beard growth is all in the family: his dad hosts an annual chili party where almost all the men in Ben’s family sport beards, and we certainly expect an invite to the next one! Ben’s wonderful wife of a year-and-a-half, Brittany, loves his beard, and we predict a long and happy life together for these two; after all, a bond built on beard-love cannot be broken! Ben says normally strangers seem to fear his beard, with the notable exception of Beards of Denver (of course). Thanks Ben, keep the beard growing strong!

The ladies of Beards of Denver always feel fortunate when we are lucky enough to meet a new (to us) bearded Denver gentleman, and we always have a hunch when we visit one of our fair city’s wonderful breweries that Lady Bearded Luck is a bit more likely to smile upon us. Such was the case on a recent fall night in Denver, where we happened upon Kyle and his fiery-gingerbeard as we were walking into Black Shirt Brewing in RiNo neighborhood. Kyle, who is originally from Mississippi, lives in North City Park with his lovely sweetheart Erin and their dog Belle. His glorious beard originates from the fact that he’s not very good at shaving, and he noted “Everybody loves it.” And how could you not love such a beard with that captivating red hue? Kyle’s redbeard is even more fitting when we found out he works at Fire on the Mountain in Highlands, our favorite wings spot in the city (and a mecca to find many impressive beards to admire). In addition to Kyle’s dedication to his beard, he has major allegiance to D-Town, proudly stating, “What other cities compare to Denver?? San Fran is cool, but it’s NOT Denver.” We couldn’t agree more Kyle. You and that fantastic beard of yours best never leave!

Some men are born funny, some men are born to grow beards, but it’s the rare gem who’s born to do both. Luckily for you, Beards of Denver fans, we’ve brought him to you. Meet Adrian Mesa and his amazing beard. Adrian, who is originally from Florida, now calls Denver home, which is fortunate for all of us because not only can he grow a bad-ass beard, he’ll also make you laugh on the regular as he often performs stand-up at Comedy Works and also hosts a monthly comedy-event at The Deer Pile called 3 Course Comedy. Held every fourth Thursday, 3 Course Comedy brings in three comedians who prep an app, main course, and dessert for the audience whilst delivering food-based jokes; sounds like a winning recipe to us! Adrian’s beard here is representative of four months of stellar growth; we certainly hope he keeps it up!

The ladies of Beards of Denver were lucky enough to meet the delightful and charismatic Levi Wells last month at the Ogden Theatre before the They Might Be Giants show. And, where there might be giants, there will definitely be Great Beards. Levi, who is originally from Cody, Wyoming, told us his beard is a result largely of laziness and a hatred of shaving, combined with the fact he previously was a documentary filmmaker for the Semester at Sea program, and shooting footage whilst at sea doesn’t bode well for doing a lot of shaving, obviously. He told us he was also working on a documentary currently that was going to require him to sail in the Caribbean for two months, so we can only imagine the lengths his beard may reach! A talented photographer as well, you can check out more of his work here. Keep up the great growin’, Levi!

Every once in a while it is the joy of the Beard Huntress to happen upon a handsome bearded man who is willing to share the various stages of change his beard goes through. Such was the case when we were fortunate enough to run into Mr. Johnny Moses a few months ago. Johnny is one of our favorite Denver beards–a native–and was kind enough to share with us the evolution of his beard, which happened over the span of four or five months this year. Johnny works both at the Elm bar and restaurant on East Colfax and Elm in Denver, as well as at Park Hill Methodist preschool, and is shown in the bottom right being given the infamous Ice Cream ‘Stache by some of his students. When Johnny’s not molding the minds of our great city’s youth, or rubbing elbows with the locals at the Elm, he plays in the Denver band I Sank Molly Brown. I said it before and I’ll say it again, Holy Moses, Johnny! We love your beard.

Here at Beards of Denver, we love Opening Day Baseball more than we love bacon (I know, that’ll come as a shock) and ALMOST more than we love beards. That’s why we were especially delighted to meet Walker after the Colorado Rockies home opener victory. Hanging out in the back patio area of Scruffy Murhpy’s, we couldn’t help admire Walker’s amaze-balls red beard and Mohawk to boot. Walker, who works at Beatport (essentially the iTunes for DJs—get on over if you haven’t heard of it, and if you haven’t, seriously, where ya been?) broke his femur in August playing some hacky-sack. While in the hospital he couldn’t shave (or didn’t feel up to it) and grew out his beard. Get this, beard lovers: he NEVER HAD A BEARD BEFORE. We were, of course, aghast, because just LOOK at it!? It is simply fantastic. Walker and his fabulous girlfriend Zhawna are Denver natives, and she’s encouraging him to keep the beard at least a year (we say, go for eternity). At any rate, pretty much no better way to wrap up an already awesome Rockies Opening Day!

This may come as a shock (or perhaps, not a shock at all) but distilling and great beards tend to go hand-in-hand. So when the ladies of Beards of Denver volunteered at the American Distilling Institute conference in Denver recently, we were pleased to meet Brandon, who works at Copper Run Distillery in Branson, Missouri. Whoever thinks Branson just has cheeky stage shows and buses of retirees frequenting it is wrong; it also has its share of men with impressive beards and great distilleries! Going back about five years, Brandon has been growing out his beard at least every winter, with his current beard at a year. When he distills, he often braids his beard and tucks it back, which we were happy to hear; we don’t want to know of any beard accidents in the workplace! When he’s not making moonshine, Brandon’s playing bluegrass music in the Ozarks with his band the Shotgun Brothers (which, not surprisingly, originates form shot-gunning some brews). Brandon has an 8-year old daughter who LOVES his beard and encourages him to enter regional beard competitions; smart little lady, even at age 8! Brandon admitted he does the competitions to make her happy and to get together and have some libations and raise money for charity; we love that honesty in a fantastic beard! Thanks Brandon, and keep that whiskey flowing for us!

When you combine a great long beard, a love of craft beers, and a resemblance to Santa Claus, who do you get? Rick, who was born, raised, and has lived in south Denver most of his life, that’s who! We were tipped off about Rick (who’s had some sort of facial hair since high school, when he got in trouble for having a mustache), and his amazing beard by his fantastic wife, Terri. We love the stellar shape of Rick’s beard, but not as much as Terri, who claims it makes a great “handle” to pull him in close for a kiss! Terri told us that young kids are always staring at Rick and his beard; her theory is that they may think he’s Santa, and he humors them by giving his beard a quick flip to make them smile—of course he’s a people pleaser; with that great beard, how could he not be? Rick’s dedicated to the beard cause; Terri said it’s easily been 12 years since she’s seen him clean shaven. Like many other amazing Beards of Denver, both Rick and Terri love visiting breweries—they’ve been to 149—yes, 149!—thus far, with Copper Kettle Brewing Company being their favorite (and also one of our favorites). Keep up that great beard growth, and beer sampling, Rick!

The ladies of Beards of Denver love frequenting the local haunts in their neighborhoods, and Park House at East Colfax and Madison has emerged as a favorite spot over the past few months. With frequent bluegrass shows, great drink specials, and a homey feel, there’s no shortage of bearded men milling about, which is an added bonus. But one beard stood out above the rest on a recent visit: Beards of Denver lovelies, meet Brian, the head chef at Park House. Originally from South Carolina, Brian first came to Denver in the early ‘90s to play baseball at CU Boulder. Though that never materialized, he did earn a degree in sociology, but discovered culinary school was his true calling, which he went on to complete in New York. After a stint in St. Petersburg, Florida, Brian made it to Denver nearly two years ago. Back in St. Pete’s, Brian entered many a beard contest, and we can certainly see why based on his beard-prowess. When asked if the beard is a staple for him, Brian’s response was, “I always say, if your daddy don’t got a beard, you got two mammas” (we take that as his beard is a mainstay for him). Brian’s fiancé, Kat, is a huge fan of his beard, and even asked him out first while he was still building up his courage to ask her out (a woman after our own hearts!) You may also notice Brian sporting a Reba McIntyre t-shirt; which, he assured us, isn’t ironic—he went to the concert when he was 13. He likes Reba, has a southern accent, AND sports a bad-ass beard? Color us smitten.